Abstract
The paper argues that the Ishin in Japanese history was not a period of restoration (save for the emperor being restored to the throne) but a period of revolution in which Western ideas about modernity, industrialization, incarceration and social relations within the urban setting were all introduced as the geochronocultural context in which Japan found itself - a nineteenth-century world dominated by the west, an Asia infiltrated by the west, and an ancient Japanese culture that appeared unable to deal effectively with the exigencies of the time - forced the country's elites to seek out novel solutions to new problems. The paper looks first at the concept of imprisonment during this period, then the oppressiveness of the Meiji, the collapse of old social institutions, then advent of new prison reforms and the rise of a new urban landscape, and finishes up by looking at how commercialized the social interactions of "new Japan" became. The paper concludes that Japan became a new land in the latter nineteenth century - not simply an old one dressed in new clothes.

From the Paper
"The following paper will argue that the Ishin in Japanese history was not a period of restoration (save for the emperor being restored to the throne) but a period of revolution in which Western ideas about modernity, industrialization, incarceration and social relations within the urban setting were all introduced as the geochronocultural context in which Japan found itself - a nineteenth-century world dominated by the west, an Asia infiltrated by the west, and an ancient Japanese culture that appeared unable to deal effectively with the exigencies of the time - forced the country's elites to seek out novel solutions to new problems."

Tags:ishin, japanese, history

Abstract
This paper discusses the novels of prolific Japanese author Natsume Soseki, which offer an interesting expose into life during the era of Emperor Meiji ,as well as a first hand account of the education system of that time. The paper summarizes the information that Soseki provides about Emperor Meiji and the reforms he implemented, which emphasized both nationalism and the integration of foreign ideals. The paper also points out that Soseki's novels reveal that, though change was afoot in Tokyo and intellectual thought was advancing, many of the traditional Japanese ideals still held fast amongst city and country folk alike.

Tags:natsume, soseki, review

Abstract
This paper discusses the means in which the Japanese society opened up its trade routes to the west. By demonstrating this innovation in eastern/western diplomacy, the writer shows how the Japanese held decided cultural advantages over the Chinese in the western race for trade routes with the Orient.

Abstract
This paper discusses the responses to three thematic posed questions on the origins of Japanese bureaucracy, the arrival of the warrior as symbol of legitimate political authority, and the significance of the Onin War. Together, these responses show important gaps between an imperial center and life in the provinces, Buddhist elite culture and Shinto popular culture; a formal shogunate versus local warlords/armies, and what must have seem a forever week imperial civil/divine power, and an effective martial power, in the same society.

From the Paper
"Question I. The production of an imperial Japanese bureaucracy owed to changes from kofun Japan's clans in the provinces, and the Nara period's establishment of an imperial capital removed from rural areas. The rise of bureaucracy is often associated with the Nara period but one sees that its development was a longer process that continued past the Nara period. In 710 AD, Nara was the capital but the imperial residence moved to Kyoto in 794, where it remained until 1868. In the 10th century, the emperors disappeared from the public, leaving administration to others. "

Tags:nara, kamakura, oninwar

Abstract
This paper examines two sets of Japanese documents: One from approximately 500 A. D. and one, a millennium later, from the Tokugawa shogunate. They are compared and contrasted. The earliest documents are mythical and religious in tone and the latter deals with the bureaucratization of society, particularly the Samurai class.

Abstract
The following paper discusses the exciting course of the history of one of the world's most prominent and influential countries: Japan. It examines Japan's days through simple life in the ancient times (Yayoi, Jomon, and Heian periods) to years of civil unrest during the Feudal times, dominated by constant warfare for the position of ultimate power: shogun. This paper also looks at Japan's culture, her people and her ideology, as time passes into the Meiji restoration. The writer discusses Japan's fierce struggle for global prominence as she tries to expand beyond her tiny island nation onto mainland Asia, only to be sucked into the global conflict of World War II. The writer reflects on the country's vital role in this war, and analyzes her sad defeat and ultimate rebirth out of one of the darkest periods in history. The paper also has a brief summary of Japanese history from the 1970's to the present day.

From the Paper
"The Japanese archipelago was first inhabited more than 100,000 years ago, when it still comprised part of the continental Asian land mass. Archaeological discoveries indicate that the ancient people of this time (The Old Stone Age or Paleolithic Age) survived on a very basic diet provided through daily hunting and gathering. The New Stone, or Neolithic age, dating at 10,000 years BC, is characterized by the manufacture of refined stone implements, the development of advanced hunting techniques using bows and arrows, and the production of earthenware containers for cooking and storing food. This age ushered in the Jomon period (around 8000 to 300 BC) so named after the jomon (cord-marked) style of pottery which originated during this time. Agriculture, primarily rice planting, and metalworking techniques were introduced from mainland Asia around 300 BC, towards the end of the period. The native peoples of Japan now began incorporating farming tools, metal weapons and bronze swords, and mirrors into their daily life and culture. The new machinery helped increase agricultural production, mirrors were used in religious rituals, and the new found weapons helped settle any domestic disputes between rival Japanese tribes."

Tags:asia, asian, china, chinese, japan, war, world, military, inferior, attack, defeat, rise, victory

Abstract
This paper examines two sets of Japanese documents: One from approximately 500 A. D. and one, a millennium later, from the Tokugawa shogunate. They are compared and contrasted. The earliest documents are mythical and religious in tone the latter deal with the bureaucratization of society particularly the Samurai class.

Abstract
This paper discusses Japanese history; specifically Japanese history between the period of the Meiji restoration and the end of the Taisho period in 1927. The writer discusses that during these two historical periods Japan was heavily influenced by external forces adopted from the West which led to its rapid modernization and industrialization. The writer discusses that in those few short years Japan went from a pre-modern society still rooted in feudal structures to become a world power on a par with the great countries of the West.

Tags:Japan, history

Abstract
The paper discusses how the Tokugawa era can be seen as a transition period in Japanese history when economic and market development contributed to the transformation of a feudal society to one based on capitalism and market economies. The paper examines the extent of the economic changes that occurred in both the urban centers of Tokugawa Japan as well as the rural Tokugawa Japan. The paper concludes with a discussion of how these economic changes manifested themselves in ultimate social change.

Outline:
Introduction
Urban Tokugawa Japan
Rural Tokugawa Japan
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The Tokugawa period in Japanese history (1600-1868) remains one of the most transformative eras in the society's history (Platt 965). At the start of the period, feudalism still dominated most aspects of Japanese culture. Caste distinctions were rigid and the social status that was afforded through this system of rough feudalism provided the primary principle of social organization. Unlike the Western colonial powers that began to interact with Japan during the Tokugawa period, there had been no middle class revolution of intellectuals and artisans to dismantle the old feudal system, as had already happened in most of Europe."

Tags:feudal, economy, capitalist, market

Abstract
These responses discuss early Japanese-Chinese relations, the influence of Buddhism on Japanese culture, and the role and history of the samurai in Japanese society.

Tags:japan